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• Sohail Afridi, party leaders plan overnight sit-in outside jail; set to move Supreme Court for meeting today
• Tarar admits ex-PM underwent ‘20 minute’ procedure at Pims, says former premier is in good health
ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: Days after reports regarding the treatment of Imran Khan emerged in mainstream media, the government admitted that the former premier was treated at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi staged a sit-in outside jail to demand a meeting with his party leader.
CM Afridi, who had skipped previous jail visits, arrived in Rawalpindi to meet Mr Khan in jail, but he was barred by the authorities from meeting the former premier, prompting a planned overnight sit-in outside the jail.
By the time this report went to press, the KP chief minister and his scores of party leaders were present outside the prison to express concern about the ex-PM’s health and demand a meeting with him.
They also planned to approach the Supreme Court in the morning to file a petition seeking a meeting with the incarcerated party founder, who underwent eye surgery at Pims on Saturday night. It may be noted that the PTI has already moved the Islamabad High Court for their biweekly meetings with Mr Khan.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, CM Afridi announced his plans for an overnight stay and said that “most of [PTI] parliamentarians have also reached the spot and some others will be arriving in some time”.
Standing alongside Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, he added, “This is about our leader’s life. We will not let this get normalised. We will spend the entire night here. We are waiting for a meeting between Imran Khan sahib and his family and personal physician.”
Sohail Afridi said that his leader was shifted to the hospital on Saturday night. “It shows that he was sick, but his illness was not being shared. Why was the family not taken into confidence? Why was his visit to the hospital kept confidential?” he asked.
Speaking to media persons, Salman Akram Raja said that he issued a list of persons to meet Imran Khan every week, but meetings were not allowed.
“I issued a list of six persons and all are present here. We are angry because Khan sahib was shifted to the hospital in the middle of the night and injections were administered to him. We have decided not to leave and will sit here,” he said.
In a late-night development, two personal physicians of Mr Khan, Dr Khurram and Dr Faisal, arrived at the factory naka. The CM and other PTI leaders also held a meeting with the doctors at a ‘dhaba’.
APP adds: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said eye specialists examined the PTI founder in prison and recommended that he be taken to Pims for a procedure. On Saturday night, following written consent, a brief medical procedure lasting about 20 minutes was carried out at Pims, he claimed.
According to Mr Tarar, the PTI founder remained stable throughout the procedure and was declared healthy by doctors. After the treatment, he was shifted back to Adiala with necessary medical instructions.
The minister emphasised that all prisoners are provided access to doctors and medical facilities under jail rules. He added that the procedure was conducted strictly on the recommendation of medical experts and with the consent of the PTI founder.
Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2026
